Professional photographers share their tips and tricks
29/09/07 17:05 Filed in: Photo Tips
This was posted recently by the
Popular Photography Magazine
and you might find some useful information and tips
here, just a few, enjoy.
Shortcuts From The Pros
Professional photographers share their tips and tricks for faster, easier, and better photos.
By PopPhoto Staff
August 2007
Quick Changes
Stop fumbling with rear lenscaps. Gaffer-tape two of them together, back-to-back. This way, when you change lenses, you can take one in your hand and the other off your camera body, connect the two together, and then twist the new lens off the double cap and put it on the body.
Mike Peters
www.mikepeters.com
You need to shoot a portrait on the road, and want to bounce your fill flash—but you’re outdoors or don’t have a reflector? Always bring along a plain white T-shirt. Put on the shirt, and point the strobe of the camera directly into your body—it’s a great way of creating a nice soft bounce. You can also use it as a reflector for natural light.
Gunther Deichmann
www.deichmann-photo.com
For information on Gunther Deichmann
GDPhotoworkshop please click here.
Which memory card is full and which is empty? Mark your memory cards in numerical order. Always start a shoot with card number 1, then 2, etc. It keeps you from having to plug them into the camera to see their status.
Alan Farkas
www.alanfarkas.com
Get your proper exposure in aperture-priority mode using your camera’s spotmeter, then switch to manual-exposure mode. Manual doesn’t get fooled by highlights and shadows. And if you need to use fill flash, you can stay in manual but still use the TTL auto mode on the flash.
Roger Duncan
www.rogerduncanphoto.com
Always Prepared
If the AF switches on your autofocus lenses are too easy to switch off while going in and out of the bag (as my Canon USM lenses are), gaffer-tape the AF switch to stay on all of the time.
Mike Peters
Notice how gaffer tape always seems to be back in the car, at home, or in the studio when you need it? Wrap a long piece around a tripod leg so you’ll always have it handy.
Alan Farkas
Keep your cable switch taped to your camera for easy finding and quick plug-in. Tim Fitzharris
www.timfitzharris.com
Improvisation on Location
For shooting on the beach, I cut an X into three tennis balls, insert each leg of my tripod into them, and duct-tape them on. This prevents the legs from sinking into the sand and stabilizes the tripod.
Paul Kline
www.paulkline.com
When I take photos of people in their environments, using a softbox with a strobe for the sitter, I will often drag [slow down] the shutter to balance the ambient light in the room for a natural look. I carry 200-watt household bulbs in my kit to replace the usual 60-watt bulbs most people use in their lamps, to boost the ambient light, lessen the time the shutter has to be dragged, and reduce the chance of blur.
Allison Leach
www.allisonleach.com
Need a lighting setup right now? Get a bunch of cheap hardware store floodlamps and daylightquality bulbs (40 to 100 watts for some variety in power). They clamp to anything and make for flexible lighting that’s inexpensive but pro-looking.
Roger Duncan
Shortcuts From The Pros
Professional photographers share their tips and tricks for faster, easier, and better photos.
By PopPhoto Staff
August 2007
Quick Changes
Stop fumbling with rear lenscaps. Gaffer-tape two of them together, back-to-back. This way, when you change lenses, you can take one in your hand and the other off your camera body, connect the two together, and then twist the new lens off the double cap and put it on the body.
Mike Peters
www.mikepeters.com
You need to shoot a portrait on the road, and want to bounce your fill flash—but you’re outdoors or don’t have a reflector? Always bring along a plain white T-shirt. Put on the shirt, and point the strobe of the camera directly into your body—it’s a great way of creating a nice soft bounce. You can also use it as a reflector for natural light.
Gunther Deichmann
www.deichmann-photo.com
For information on Gunther Deichmann
GDPhotoworkshop please click here.
Which memory card is full and which is empty? Mark your memory cards in numerical order. Always start a shoot with card number 1, then 2, etc. It keeps you from having to plug them into the camera to see their status.
Alan Farkas
www.alanfarkas.com
Get your proper exposure in aperture-priority mode using your camera’s spotmeter, then switch to manual-exposure mode. Manual doesn’t get fooled by highlights and shadows. And if you need to use fill flash, you can stay in manual but still use the TTL auto mode on the flash.
Roger Duncan
www.rogerduncanphoto.com
Always Prepared
If the AF switches on your autofocus lenses are too easy to switch off while going in and out of the bag (as my Canon USM lenses are), gaffer-tape the AF switch to stay on all of the time.
Mike Peters
Notice how gaffer tape always seems to be back in the car, at home, or in the studio when you need it? Wrap a long piece around a tripod leg so you’ll always have it handy.
Alan Farkas
Keep your cable switch taped to your camera for easy finding and quick plug-in. Tim Fitzharris
www.timfitzharris.com
Improvisation on Location
For shooting on the beach, I cut an X into three tennis balls, insert each leg of my tripod into them, and duct-tape them on. This prevents the legs from sinking into the sand and stabilizes the tripod.
Paul Kline
www.paulkline.com
When I take photos of people in their environments, using a softbox with a strobe for the sitter, I will often drag [slow down] the shutter to balance the ambient light in the room for a natural look. I carry 200-watt household bulbs in my kit to replace the usual 60-watt bulbs most people use in their lamps, to boost the ambient light, lessen the time the shutter has to be dragged, and reduce the chance of blur.
Allison Leach
www.allisonleach.com
Need a lighting setup right now? Get a bunch of cheap hardware store floodlamps and daylightquality bulbs (40 to 100 watts for some variety in power). They clamp to anything and make for flexible lighting that’s inexpensive but pro-looking.
Roger Duncan